New grub screw locking the nozzle on new printers!

Sovol Zero
1

I believe this is valid for both Sovol Zero and SV08 MAX (same tool-head?).

It appears that someone at Sovol have introduced an “unconventional improvement” of the heater-block - without any notice… anywhere…

There is now a small grub screw on the right side of the heater-block, that goes straight into the treads of the nozzle, and locks it in position.
They also introduced some thread-locking-goo in there, to be really really sure that the nozzle shouldn’t come loose - ever…

The idea of a screw jamming straight in to the threads of the nozzle isn’t great, in my opinion. It might be OK with a hardened steel nozzle, but a nickel-plated copper nozzle wouldn’t like that…

I didn’t notice the grub screw, and this is how my nozzle looks like after removing without loosening it on my brand new Zero:

sdf
sdf1440×1080 232 KB
sdf
sdf1440×1080 240 KB

It was a bit sneaky, as the screw is facing to the side, so it’s not obvious that you notice it, before you put your wrench over there and cover it. I didn’t…
At first I thought I ruined the heater-block as well, but it turned out that I could clear the debris from the nozzle out of the block threads, and it appears to be OK. Good knows what would have happened if the nozzle was of hardened steel..!

This is how the heater-block looks like on my printer, which is one of the very last few sold on sovol.eu:

(grub screw removed)

sdf
sdf1440×1080 390 KB

Looking at new heater-blocks among Sovols accessories, and comparing to imagery form numerous videos I’ve seen, this seems to be a new version of a new version. The first version, seen on most youtube videos, don’t have a copper cylinder on the heat-break tube, like this one has, shown at Sovols accessories: Nozzle and Heater Block Kit for Sovol Zero.

sdftg
sdftg1000×1000 96.6 KB

And there are no grub screw! So clearly the have come up with a third version.

The first style, without copper cylinder, doesn’t seem to be available at Sovol (if it ever was used in production?)
The CAD-drawings on github isn’t updated at all (still without copper cylinder).

I did order a complete toolhead (Extruder Kit) as a spare part to my printer (I knew the Zero is discontinued). That heater-block allso has a grub screw.

That spare part kind of saved my day, as I could easily swap the hotend on my printer and go on - I thougth… But then I doubted the nozzle temperature calibration with the new hotend. It seemed to hot. It wasn’t but led me to an interesting journey into the PT1000 configuration and calibration of the Zero. - A subjekt for another thread…

2

Thanks for the warning! I’ve changed the nozzle on my Zero plenty of times so it probably doesn’t have the grub screw but I also have a spare complete tool head I ordered when I learned the Zero was discontinued. I might have damaged it when I eventually need it if it has the grub screw and I did not know to look.

3

Thanks @pi.r

Late last year I also ordered a replacement extruder assembly ( Sovol Zero Extruder Kit – Includes Motor, Hotend, Cooling Fan & More ) as a standby. I figured I should take a look to see what version I received, as you said it has a grub screw! I’ve added a note into the box, things tend to escape me :melting_face:

Thank you for your post I would have never known to look and probably broke something trying to swap the nozzle!

Cheers, :tumbler_glass:
-Mike

Sharing a photo of the assembly with silicon sock removed.

nozzle_setscrew
nozzle_setscrew1632×918 308 KB

4

That - is what i think Sovol should have done… Just add a simple note on a piece of paper in the box. Both with printers and tool-head-kits.

5

I bought the Hotend Kit and it has a grub also.

6

Thanks for the updated info. I knew Sovol added a set screw on the SV08 because some people were extruding PETG quickly and the nozzles were unscrewing, causing all sorts of problems. I didn’t realize that Sovol had added a set screw on the later Zero printers. Gotta love continuous quality improvement, even though these undocumented changes can cause a lot of problems.

Having printed a LOT with my Zero and never having a problem with the nozzle backing out, I’m inclined to remove the set screw in my second Zero (still in the box) and the replacement hot end, assuming they each have a set screw. I don’t need to add another step to the nozzle swap procedure. It’s already a slight hassle as I switch between ABS-CF, TPU-LW, PLA and occasionally PETG, seemingly before every new print.